LBYMs what do you splurge on?

[anethum]

Travel. I just returned from a superb 3-week bike trip in France with a friend to celebrate our milestone birthdays this year. We were in Normandy just before the heads of state arrived for the D-Day anniversary, plus some other regions, and a few days in Paris. During last winter, I had a brief escape to Colombia. Eldercare is making travel a lot trickier, however.

I'll splurge on a good meal but I like to cook, so I don't eat out that often while at home.

 

[LitGal]

We LBYM but take at least one vacation per year with family - have been building memories for last sixteen years. Someday when kids are on their own, we'll miss them so much and those memories will keep us busy in our later years. I'll look for the deals, rent a place with kitchen but we'll go out somewhere. We're going to Europe this summer.

+1 DH and I have done the same. Now, in our "later years" we've traveled without DS, but just spent a week with him and our new DIL visiting Northern California (SF, Tahoe, and relatives in the Central Valley).

We usually rent places with a kitchen (love Airbnb); eat out only once a day at the most; and, generally, travel in an LBYM fashion.

Doing so allows us to take MORE trips..........far more important to us than traveling in a luxurious fashion. Most of what we want to see is usually free (or can be seen with an NPS Access Pass) or has a reasonable admission charge (eg. museums, historical sites).

For us, it's choosing quantity over caviar.

 

[audreyh1]

Travel. Un-freaking-believable what a trip to Europe will set you back. 5 nights in Vienna? OMG!

But - what else did we save it for?

 

[ejman]

With 71 on the horizon, 21 yrs of ER under my belt, I will loosen up and party. After the IRS takes their cut.

remodeling here and there, food, travel and maybe a new vehicle.

heh heh heh - still back check with ORP and FireCalc to stay in the ballpark. If I screw up and pass with too much on the table - perhaps a nice headstone so pigeons can sit and poop.

Now, that's a nice thought!

 

[NW-Bound]

So many posters say travel is the main or one of their splurges.

We have so many travel lovers in our extended family. My parents and my siblings all love to travel. One of my nieces and her fiance are doing a long trip by bicycle through part of Europe, and on their own and not as part of any tour. I was surprised when learned of the length of their trip, and they said they both took time off without pay.

 

[redduck]

Travel. Un-freaking-believable what a trip to Europe will set you back. 5 nights in Vienna? OMG!

But - what else did we save it for?

Well, how about this? Netflix! Six (6) DVD's out-at-a-time! $32.99 a month! OMG! Don't have the time to spend 5 nights in Vienna.

 

[NW-Bound]

Well, how about this? Netflix! Six (6) DVD's out-at-a-time! $32.99 a month! OMG! Don't have the time to spend 5 nights in Vienna.

May I get some travel videos instead? Rick Steves' or Maxa's DVDs please?

 

[audreyh1]

Well, how about this? Netflix! Six (6) DVD's out-at-a-time! $32.99 a month! OMG! Don't have the time to spend 5 nights in Vienna.

LOL!

NW-Bound - Hulu has all the Rick Steve's videos.

 

[NW-Bound]

I wonder if Rick Steves or Maxa has any new DVDs out. The last time I watched Rick Steves was 5 or 6 years ago, and at that point I had seen them all.

 

[Cassie]

Sometimes I keep the library books past the due date!

LOL, love the humor!

 

[kcowan]

....I am not a picky eater, but when eating out I like to go to places that do things differently or better than we can at home. We do not eat out just to eat out, and both of us like to cook.

And by the way, your spending is going down just like Bernicke's study showed. I think mine will too.

Yes one of the problems is that DW is a fantastic cook, so eating out must at least match or exceed eating at home.

 

[FUEGO]

Sometimes I keep the library books past the due date!

I view that as a charitable contribution to the library system!

 

[NW-Bound]

I view that as a charitable contribution to the library system!

That's also my view when I fail to return items on time. The fine of a few dollars goes to support the library, and is not a waste.

Still, I prefer to support the library by buying donated or discarded books that it sells; a hardcover goes for $1, while a paperback is $0.50. I get something, and they get something, so it is win-win. If it turns out to be a book I do not want to finish or if I do not want to keep it, I just donate it back so they can turn it around and make another buck.

 

[W2R]

I haven't posted on this thread because I wasn't sure of definitions, specifically "LBYM" and "splurge".

So far my spending has been less than my dividends + pension every year, between 2.0%-2.6% of my portfolio. So, I guess that meets the definition of LBYM. Still, it seems a little uncomfortable to say that. I do NOT feel like I am being very frugal any more, though I was during the accumulation phase.

Now, what is a "splurge"? Dictionary.com defines it as "an ostentatious display, especially an extravagantly expensive one.". Argh. Display? That doesn't have a nice, homey ring to it, does it. I am not sure that I splurge on anything, using that definition because I am more of an introvert than that. So, for purposes of this post maybe I will redefine "splurge" to mean "spending a lot of money on something that is not really necessary". OK.

Using that definition, I tend to splurge on:

(1) health related expenses:
exercise equipment
dental work; an implant instead of a bridge
[-]good[/-] great food
top notch gym

(2) consumer items
kitchen gadgets from Amazon like my trash bag holder or hot water boiler
Electronics (TV, Kindles, iPad/iPhones, laptop, and above all, video game consoles).
cheap art, although I have filled my house with it so haven't bought any more for a few years by now.

(3) occasional/rare home improvements; specifically my wonderful new door.

That's about it. We do not have the travel bug, so the only time we have traveled since retiring has been our evacuation for Hurricane Isaac in 2012. That probably wasn't a splurge, though, since emergency management personnel told us that evacuation was advisable/necessary. (sigh)

 

[NW-Bound]

We do not have the travel bug, so the only time we have traveled since retiring has been our evacuation for Hurricane Isaac in 2012...

You once wrote that you wanted to spend a week or two in DC to visit all the museums on the mall. I guess you still have not done that trip.

 

[W2R]

You once wrote that you wanted to spend a week or two in DC to visit all the museums on the mall. I guess you still have not done that trip.

Nope, not yet. I guess I didn't want to do it as much as I thought, or I would have by now.

 

[NW-Bound]

I guess I didn't want to do it as much as I thought...

Obviously not.

The husband of one of my aunts does not care to travel. He said that wherever he went, it was just buildings and people.

And he is not wrong.

 

[devans0]

Um... The obvious. Dryer sheets

 

[FANOFJESUS]

Travel. Un-freaking-believable what a trip to Europe will set you back. 5 nights in Vienna? OMG!

But - what else did we save it for?

I will be the noisy one. What did it cost if you don't mind saying?

 

[ERD50]

Oh yes we can. LBYM is a mathematical concept. If revenues > expenses, you are LBYM.

Yep, and Bill Gates is most probably the poster child for LBYM.

I just read his NW is ~ 76B. At a nice conservative 2% WR, that would be....

Over $4 Million a day!

It's not like ordering the most expensive wine at the restaurant every night is going to dent that. Heck, you could get in your private jet, and fly to the vineyard and have plenty of change left.

-ERD50

 

[NW-Bound]

I just read his NW is ~ 76B. At a nice conservative 2% WR, that would be....

Over $4 Million a day!

I wonder how much he has divested of MS stock, and how that affects his WR. Does he run his own version of FIRECalc to see what WR he can get?

Hmm... I do not own nor follow MS stock, so just look it up. MSFT dividend yield is 2.57%, relative to S&P composite value of 1.84%. Wow, MSFT is now a dividend-paying value stock. Still, its expected earning growth matches that of S&P. Not bad at all.

If I were Bill Gates, I would kick it up a notch and do 2.5% or even 3% WR, not the 2% like you suggested. If the economy faltered, I would switch to Bernicke's spending model.

 

[haha]

The problem with living off your investments instead of a paid salary is that your "means" is not well defined. Is my means 3% WR, 3.5, or 4? And how about future SS?

I think this is the big enchilada. There is more uncertainty to this way of life than is commonly accepted.

Ha

 

[Zathras]

Electric vehicles are definitely my splurge item.
Travel is relatively cheap as we only take driving vacations.
And $3500/year gas savings covers vacations nicely.

 

[Totoro]

I wonder how much he has divested of MS stock, and how that affects his WR.

He has about 4% of MSFT left. He's selling / donating to his foundation, and will continue to do so I believe.

Steve Ballmer actually has more shares than him now

 

[audreyh1]

I think this is the big enchilada. There is more uncertainty to this way of life than is commonly accepted.

Ha

Only if you ignore the fact that someone can be be laid off/let go from a salary job at any time. Once this is realized, living off investments, no matter how variable, seems far more secure.